If you’ve tried every popular diet and blown your healthy eating efforts because you’re not getting the lasting weight loss results you desire, we’ve got you covered! There are powerful hacks to lose 10 pounds that you’ve probably overlooked. In fact, as registered dietitians and personal trainers specializing in weight loss, we can assure you that the hacks we share with our clients help them lose 10 pounds with ease – and keep it off!
And while each is effective, it also requires minimal effort, not a complete diet overhaul like many popular diets do. Gradual, small changes are what make them realistic and sustainable for long-term results! Whether your goal is to fit into your favorite jeans or simply feel lighter and more alive, here are some lesser-known nutrition secrets that might just be the game-changer you’ve been looking for.
1. Increase your protein at meals AND at the beginning of the meal.
Protein keeps you satisfied so you don’t end up overeating later. It also keeps your blood sugar levels stable so you don’t alternate energy highs with crashes. Aim for at least 20 grams of protein per meal.
We have our clients eat 20 grams (or more) of blood sugar stabilizing protein before the carbs at the meal to help improve their metabolic health and prevent the release of cortisol, the belly fat hormone. We do this personally, and also because if your blood sugar is stable when you eat carbs, the carbs won’t be able to raise your blood sugar and will therefore cause a more gradual rise than that deadly spike. resulting in an accident, resulting in cravings and the release of neurotransmitters such as cortisol. This little nugget is a golden hack for weight loss.
2. Put oil in a spray bottle instead of pouring it.
Whether you pour oil into a pan to make an omelet at breakfast, add it to a salad at lunch or dip bread into that dinner, each tablespoon adds 120 calories. Chances are every time you add oil you use more than a few tablespoons. Store oil in a spray bottle, spray it on a pan or meal instead of pouring it, and save up to hundreds of calories each day and watch the pounds fall off. Pick it up and spray sauces, seasonings, and even melted butter by adding them to a spray bottle. While extra virgin olive oil is heart-healthy and packed with anti-inflammatory polyphenols, the calories still add up just as quickly as other oils.
We like to use non-aerosol spray cans to spray the pan or spray vegetables before roasting. We also use spray bottles and mix some lemon juice with a little oil and save it for a quick sprinkling on a salad, sardines or other fish. (For cooking, we just use a spray from the oil in the pan and then add water to prevent sticking. We add a measured amount of very high quality olive oil at the end, after cooking for various reasons, which you will share in an upcoming blog ).
3. Start exercising first thing in the morning.
While there is mixed research on whether this actually helps you burn more calories, the truth is that if you exercise first thing in the morning, there are two main reasons why it helps you lose weight. First, it’s a good idea to start your day by stoking your metabolic fire, as your body will burn more calories the day you eat.
And the main reason we see our clients lose weight from morning exercise is that there are fewer things (and fewer excuses!) to get in the way of your workout. Even the best intentions to exercise later in the day are derailed because you have to stay late at work, go out with friends, or have a hectic day. Plus, starting your day by doing something positive for your health and weight sets the intention for the day!
4. Eat vegetables before your meal
If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll know that whenever we talk about weight loss, vegetables are always included. They are SO important for weight loss. Eat them before your meal and you’ll stave off hunger with very few calories and then be able to make a sensible decision about what to eat. Believe it or not, this is just one of many hacks to lose 10 pounds without much effort.
You’ll eat less of the heavy stuff at lunch and get fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory benefits that counteract the inflammation that makes weight loss harder and weight gain easier. The key is not to add butter, oil or calorie-laden sauces to the vegetables – of course, you can use the spritzing hack which adds lots of flavor and few calories.
Also, similar to how protein stabilizes your blood sugar, vegetables and their fiber help do the same, so when you eat carbs after them, they won’t negatively affect your metabolic health by creating a insulin surge. This also means you’ll avoid high blood sugar and crashes – and bypass the activation of cortisol, the belly fat hormone!
5. Write down everything you eat.
Keeping a record makes you accountable. You won’t forget that you ate a few pieces of candy from your co-workers’ candy jar if they’re recorded in your food diary. Research shows that people who write down what they eat lose twice as much weight as those who don’t.
Our customers use our platform that allows them to take food photos of what they are eating and upload them in real time so we can see what they are eating. They often forget to take a picture before they eat so they take a picture of the empty food wrapper or just write down what they are eating. They tell us that this process is incredibly impressive and that when they scroll through photos of what they’re eating, it keeps them accountable.
6. Flavor your food with lemon (or lime).
These citrus fruits help bring out the flavor in all foods and work wonders in salads, seafood, fish, chicken and more. It’s one of the tastiest tricks many top chefs use to replace high-calorie salt and spices while still tasting antioxidant-rich with virtually no calories.
You often don’t need dressings, marinades or sauces when using lemon or lime, so you can save a lot of calories.
7. Leave the last 4 bites at every meal.
This will save you about 100 calories at each meal/snack and cut about 400 calories a day. This will be minimal, but from this change alone you will lose almost a pound a week.
Losing those extra pounds doesn’t necessarily require a complete overhaul of life. Often, it’s the smaller, consistent changes—like choosing an oil spray instead of an infuser or incorporating citrus flavors to enhance food profiles—that can have a profound impact over time.
Karen’s success story
We want to tell you about our client Karen who came to us because she felt completely discouraged about her weight. She had gained about 25kg during Covid, making her 30kg heavier than she should be for her petite 5’3 frame. Karen felt like she got hungry very quickly after meals and this caused her to overeat.
She said her energy dropped and she wasn’t motivated to lose weight, but at the same time she felt very uncomfortable. Her clothes didn’t fit her and it was embarrassing for her to go back to the office with all the weight she gained. Her weight caused her blood sugar and blood pressure to go too high and into an unhealthy range. She wanted really easy things she could do that didn’t require a lot of effort and that could help her lose weight, but she didn’t know where to start. We knew that Karen would really benefit from trying some of these 7 hacks to lose 10 pounds the healthy way, as well as a few other things.
Our plan for Karen
We took a deep dive and looked at Karen’s lifestyle so we could see what changes would be easy for her to make and what her body would respond to. We started by looking at her meals and quickly discovered that too many of her meals lacked the protein to keep her satisfied. She often made overnight oats for breakfast, and the only protein was a touch of milk, and it certainly wasn’t enough to sustain her. Her other breakfast was also healthy, but again, it was just oatmeal and berries, and no protein to keep her satisfied and keep her blood sugar stable.
By mid-morning, she was typically starving and headed to the office pantry where there were candy bars with granola bars, and usually grabbed one or two of those or a bagel. Again, very little protein. At lunch, she usually tried to be what she called “good” and ordered a salad with croutons and dressing and asked for a couple of spoonfuls of beans or chickpeas for protein. And that was too little to keep her going and her afternoon snack would be the same as her breakfast.
By the time she got home for dinner, she was starving and eating every snack and sweet in her house while cooking dinner or waiting for a delivery. The first thing we suggested she do was increase her protein in her meals—she mixed a cup of low-fat Greek yogurt into her overnight oats and added a scoop of protein powder to her oatmeal.
Other tips that helped Karen
At lunch, she started asking for chicken, shrimp or turkey in her salad – something that had significantly more protein than she had in her previous meals, so it would keep her going longer. She didn’t need all the granola bars and pretzels anymore. So even though she added protein, she was able to cut a significant amount of calories from all of her snacks.
The other change we made to her was to allow 4 bites at each meal. We felt these two changes were very doable for her and she agreed. After 4.5 months she lost 22 kg and said it really didn’t take much effort on her part and her blood sugar and blood pressure were no longer high.
After 6 months she lost the 30 kg she wanted and enjoyed going to the office, unlike in the past when she felt embarrassed about her weight. Now it’s been over a year and she’s kept the 30kg off, but she’s no longer tired and feels motivated, she said the weight was really weighing on her mentally and physically. And it only took incorporating easy hacks to lose 10 pounds and more!
You too can lose those 10 pounds!
If you need a little extra help and guidance to lose weight like Karen did, we can help! We work with your body’s unique blood chemistry, hormones, dietary preferences and lifestyle to create a plan that works just for you. If you are interested in 1:1 nutritional guidance, just fill out this form!
